Thank you, Mr. Villeneuve. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nahendeh, Mr. Menicoche.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. (English not provided)

Mr. Speaker, this week I was saddened to hear that the hardest drug made it to a small community in my riding. The Deh Cho Drum reported that there was a bust, a crack cocaine bust, in Wrigley. Apparently people were travelling all the way from Edmonton to sell the drugs into Wrigley, and that's a long way to sell these drugs. I believe it's a precursor of things to come; just the tip of things to come. We need precious policing resources in our communities long before development, Mr. Speaker.

As well, the editorial part of the Deh Cho Drum, Mr. Speaker, the editor said that drug proofing needs everyone. I, too, would like to mention at this time, like, I commend residents of Wrigley and concerned people around Fort Simpson for the courage, strength and wisdom to report and work with the police in helping to make these arrests. That's what I spoke about in Slavey; I'd like to thank them for taking care of our own.

The police, it goes on to state there, Mr. Speaker, that this community, victory could not be done without the help of the community. Once again, I commend them.

As well, once again, I'd like to state that this leap into development, which has been so much into the news, is coupled with reality as well, that hard drugs and drug dealers and the scourges of society will be coming up and we must deal with them.

Mr. Speaker, our government must continue to allocate the resources to our policing sector to send the message that drugs are not to be tolerated in the Deh Cho or any other place in our great northern territory. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Sahtu, Mr. Yakeleya.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This morning about quarter to six I was up there having a coffee and I was thinking about the statement today I wanted to say. I wanted to share with my honourable colleagues here my thoughts on a very special day coming up. As Mrs. Groenewegen indicated, that special day is coming up soon and that's Father's Day.

When I began my role as an MLA, little did I know the amount of time that it takes me and other colleagues around here away from our families, especially our little ones. Soon those little ones become big ones. Anyhow.

So, Mr. Speaker, I get a lot of questions from my little guy. Why do you have to go to so many meetings? Can I come? He calls this, he says, can I come to this big House here? Or he says, sometimes, Daddy's House.

---Laughter

He's the king. So sometimes when my little guy puts on a tie, he says I'm going to business. He calls this meeting business. Sometimes, can he stay home today, Dad? Or don't go to the business meetings, you know? How come my Dad doesn't say hello to me when he's on TV? So, hello, son.

---Applause

When he sees me on TV he wants to know why I'm not talking to him. So, Mr. Speaker, our role as leaders, as fathers, as mothers and servants to our people, it has no, sometimes a different meaning, especially as MLAs to our little guys. They just want us home and they just want to be held, or they want to spend time with them, or to read these high stacks of books. As fathers sometimes I just take the little, small ones, but he's pretty smart there. So they just want our time and to comfort them when we get back home after many days on the road. You know they're mad at you, but they're also happy to see you and they act it out. So you have to comfort them. You know? It sometimes gets really hard, Mr. Speaker.

But as fathers, I want to emphasize that we carry a great role and responsibilities and sacrifices and we're blessed with the little ones to make us realize what's really important in life and they truly humble us when they ask us after a hard day, how was your day, Dad? So I want to say, Mr. Speaker, I was told by our elders that these

children are loaned to us and we're blessed and they are to teach us something.

So I want to say to all fathers, grandfathers, Happy Father's Day, keep up the good work. Teach your children well. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Great Slave, Mr. Braden.

Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. Fourteen months ago, this Assembly passed a motion requesting the Auditor General of Canada to do some very specific and very important work on our behalf. We asked that her office look into the area of claims management for injured workers in the Workers' Compensation Board. We asked her to look and see whether claims were processed fairly, efficiently and impartially, that the appeals tribunal performs its work in a like manner, that the governance counsel's oversight functions are adequate and that the roles and relationship of the board and the stakeholders are clearly understood.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, of course, you tabled this report. It is indeed a detailed audit. The Auditor General's team talked with 18 claimants, many council members, staff, medical professionals. They consulted experts in governance, the law and WCB practice. It is 54 pages, very readable pages, Mr. Speaker, containing 27 recommendations, the vast majority of which have been reviewed by the council of governors, the board, the appeals tribunal and, I'm pleased to note, have their concurrence.

Mr. Speaker, I'm relieved, on one hand, that the Auditor General found that there are no specific areas requiring drastic action or to indicate that there is damaging wrongdoing in the WCB that requires crisis intervention. Rather, the 27 recommendations show us that we have significant need for improvement in the governance practices, communications protocols and stakeholder relationships in this very vital part of our workforce governance agenda.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Auditor General, Mrs. Sheila Fraser, and her team, for undertaking this work on our behalf. I want to thank the Members of this Assembly and our counterparts in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut for supporting my efforts in the motion that I brought forward last year on behalf of injured workers.

Mr. Speaker, our Accountability and Oversight committee will host Mrs. Fraser here in Yellowknife on June 28th when a public review of her report and the steps that we can undertake in the future to ensure that the WCB merits the confidence of everyone across the NWT and Nunavut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Braden. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Yellowknife Centre, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On the first day of this session I had an interesting exchange with the Minister of Health and Social Services on the need for an independent board to watch over the operations of the Stanton Territorial Hospital. Mr. Speaker, all public hospitals in Canada have independent public boards. On the face of it, using the Joint Leadership Council, which is made up of the chairpersons of the health authorities, ensuring regional perspectives are brought to the table is a great idea. I think it's an efficient use of resources, boards and administration, Mr. Speaker.

However, what concerns me about the current workings of the Joint Leadership Council is the total control exercised by the Minister of Health and Social Services. This is fine when the Minister is using them for discussion or as a sounding board for the development of new policies, systems or programs, but not when he comes to oversee the working of the NWT's largest hospital, Mr. Speaker. I know of no other provincial hospital in this country that the Minister of Health and Social Services in that province sits as chair of that board. It raises the question, Mr. Speaker, does our Minister have nothing better to do?

I can agree with the Minister's ultimate position where he is overall in ultimate authority and the discussions of his department and the authorities that he has to do final approval over. But what about the final arbitration when it comes to the board? What about challenges of discussions that arise? Who ultimately oversees that problem? So, Mr. Speaker, there is the problem.

The government is a system of checks and balances and, in the case of this department and its authorities, there is a distinction between the roles of the department and the authority plays. The authorities have some leeway in their regions to develop and deliver their own programming, as long as they meet the minimum service standards that are set out by the department, again overseen by the Minister. It is then the department's role to ensure that the service delivery targets are met in a fiscally responsible way that meets the health care needs of all our northerners.

With the Joint Leadership Council being the defacto board for Stanton and, as far as anyone can tell, a creature whose agenda inputs and outputs are controlled by the Minister's office, I really have to wonder, Mr. Speaker, about their independence and maybe even their relevance. So, Mr. Speaker, as I said, the Minister has said before he bears ultimate responsibility and being the final decision-maker...

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.

The Member is seeking unanimous consent to conclude his statement. Are there any nays? There are no nays. You may conclude your statement, Mr. Hawkins.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you, colleagues. As I said, the Minister has the ultimate responsibility of his department and the authorities. I believe if he chairs the Stanton board the Minister could be perceived as being in a position of conflict where he cannot show objective thinking where it may be

compromised in their discussions. That will lead us nowhere and yet it will make the board look silly.

What does he really want, Mr. Speaker? He should be Minister, which he's appointed to now. The role of the board is to provide strategic direction to ensure regional perspectives are brought to the table. The Joint Leadership Council, I'm not against the concept of appointing it to the board of Stanton, but, Mr. Speaker, we need checks and balances, a fair chair, an independent chair, and I don't believe the Minister's thought this out and I will have questions for him later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Members' statements. The honourable Member for Nunakput, Mr. Pokiak.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on numerous occasions I've raised the need for granular material for communities without year-round access to granular materials. Today I will be more specific to try and address the need for granular materials to upgrade the roads and driveways in Tuktoyaktuk.

Mr. Speaker, many years ago, about 1955, the American government -- or should I say DEW Line site -- quarried granular material from along the shores of Tuktoyaktuk to accommodate the buildings and roads and gravel pad to construct the DEW Line facility. Last year, during the NWTAC meeting in Tuktoyaktuk, the Premier and Minister of MACA toured the community and the unmanned DEW Line site.

Mr. Speaker, the Hamlet of Tuk has written to the Minister of National Defence requesting access to granular material. Unfortunately, to date there has been no response from the federal department. The Premier is well aware of these letters and has taken an interest on behalf of the hamlet to access the granular material. Mr. Speaker, the hamlet needs access to granular materials in the DEW Line site so that they can address the roads and driveways that need to be maintained and repaired. The Premier indicated he would meet with the federal Minister of National Defence in Ottawa in late May. Mr. Speaker, I will be following up with the Premier about his trip to Ottawa and continue to work with the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk to try and gain access to the gravel. If access can be gained this summer, it will allow the hamlet to maintain and repair the washboard roads in Tuktoyaktuk. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Pokiak. Members' statements. The honourable Member from Inuvik Twin Lakes, Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, with this being the last day of session and the whole summer to look forward to, I would like to speak to events going on in all the communities. I would like to speak to a few of the events that are going to be held in Inuvik.

On June 14th, Mr. Speaker, the sixth annual Inuvik Petroleum Show will be held. It's an opportunity for industry and the business community, government, aboriginal government to come together to discuss common issues. Last year, Mr. Speaker, there were 700 registered participants, 120 tradeshow booths, and over $2 million brought into the local economy. This reinforces Inuvik's position as the oil and gas capital of the NWT.

On July 10th to the 14th, Mr. Speaker, an important event is going to be held in Inuvik and that's the Beaufort-Delta Residential School Society will be holding a reunion in Inuvik and the idea for the reunion, Mr. Speaker, was the former residential students' desire to create a forum where they could share their impacts of residential schools. This is a very important event. An invitation was extended to the Premier to come and speak, and I'm sure the society would be honoured if his schedule permits him to.

July 28th to August the 2nd the Gwich'in will be holding a large gathering in Inuvik, Mr. Speaker. This is a gathering of the Gwich'in from the NWT, Alaska and the Yukon. Many events will be held during the week and they'll be having many discussions on common issues and I'm sure caribou will be one of them. This is an excellent opportunity, Mr. Speaker, for the Gwich'in to gather and meet old friends and hopefully make some new ones.

June 23rd in Inuvik the Samuel Hearne will be having their graduation and I congratulate all the grads and best of luck to their future.

Seeing this is our last day of session until October, Mr. Speaker, I'd like to wish my colleagues a safe and enjoyable summer. Thank you.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Members' statements. The honourable Member from the Deh Cho, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the accomplishments of three people from Fort Providence. Mr. Greg Reardon, Trevor Bonnetrouge and Jessica Minoza were honoured by royalty this week. All three were recognized for their participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Program. These prestigious awards were presented by the Earl and Countess of Wessex at a ceremony held in Edmonton on Tuesday. At the ceremony Mr. Reardon was awarded the gold medal, while Mr. Bonnetrouge received a special commendation for a presentation he made to their Royal Highnesses about his home community of Fort Providence.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Program is an international program founded by his Royal Highness Prince Phillip in 1956, which has been active in the North since 1970. In that time, 371 northern youth have taken part. Young people between the ages of 14 and 25 participate on an ongoing basis in four mandatory activities: community service, physical recreation, skill development and undertaking an expedition or an exploration. The program empowers young people to

become participating citizens and to give back to their community not just while they are part of the program, but for their lifetime.

Two of the three participants from Fort Providence honoured this year will be continuing on with the program. There are currently eight students from the community enrolled and many more plan to sign up for next year.

Mr. Speaker, these young people all deserve to be congratulated for making an effort and working hard to improve their lives and the lives of others in the community. Their example is a real inspiration for all northern youth to follow. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. McLeod. Members' statements. The honourable Member from Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Roland.

Thank you, Mr. Roland. Members' statements. The honourable Member from Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I, too, would like to take this opportunity to recognize that summer is on its way. It's a time for us to enjoy the season, but, more importantly, enjoy our friends, our family and our children who will be out of school. More importantly, for the people that are going to be out in their bush camps and their fish camps along the river and also being able to enjoy the festive season that we do have in the summer, such as our music festivals, such as the Pokiak Festival, Midway Lake, Canoe Days and also we have the Inuvik Arts Show that goes on every July.

With that, Mr. Speaker, recognition of the National Aboriginal Day, which is on the 21st, again, recognize our cultural importance that aboriginal play in the history of the Northwest Territories, but, more importantly, the significant legacy that is left by the culture that we have in the Northwest Territories.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I'd like to also encourage the people to come to the Mackenzie Delta for a holiday, enjoy the beautiful scenery, enjoy the many people, such as the ones attending the Gwich'in gathering, which will include people from Alaska, the Yukon and Northwest Territories in Inuvik, and also attend the Gwich'in assembly, which will take place in Aklavik this year.

Mr. Speaker, I would like, at this time, to wish everybody a safe and enjoyable summer. More importantly, I look forward to seeing all of my constituency in the Mackenzie Delta this summer by attending these different events. So with that, have a safe summer. Mahsi cho.

---Applause

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. Members' statements. Reports of standing and special committees. Returns to oral questions. The honourable Minister responsible for Municipal and Community Affairs, Mr. McLeod.

Mr. Speaker, I have a return to oral question asked by the other Mr. McLeod on June 2, 2006, regarding the review process of the Public Utilities Board.

The Public Utilities Board, PUB, was established by the Public Utilities Act to serve as an expert and independent adjudicator in the rate setting process. The PUB also insulates the Government of the Northwest Territories from the potential for conflict in view of its controlling financial interest in NWT Power Corporation. As consumers have a right to be treated fairly and equitably, an independent body for appeal is essential.

The Minister responsible for the PUB cannot rescind a board decision and then hold a hearing. Consumers can seek judicial review under section 78 of the act.

Section 78 of the act states that a person affected by an order, decision or rule of the board may apply to the Supreme Court within 45 days after receiving notice of the order, decision or rule for leave to appeal on a question of law or excess of jurisdiction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.